Illustration by Xiaoman Ren Embarking on a Cultural and Fun Journey Abd al-Hadi Abunahlel, artistic director of Studio 8 - a vibrant centre for performing arts in Jordan, invites us to embark on (part of) the journey he's been on with Tandem 360°, working on the project Mapping Dance Ecosystem in Jordan and Tunisia. His words feel like a poetic dance illustrated beautifully by designer and artist Xiaoman Ren. Illustration by Xiaoman Ren By the time we were on the road again, expecting something out of the ordinary by pre-pandemic standards, we sat in silence. On arrival at the airport, it felt as though we had just woken up from many fragmented dreams. The dreams were real, some with lights, some with dark shadows. As we were to be swallowed by shadows, “Please don’t let it be!”, words shoot through our heads like bullets, then there was silence again. Illustration by Xiaoman Ren We threw my arms around them. How good it is to have them. Small wonder, “I think there’ll be a lot of talks when you settle down.” We did not hear what they say, our mind had already drifted off to another street corner, and wandered away. Feeling like children in a lost world, we shivered and were overjoyed. Time passed quickly, we were all over the place, meeting everyone, and anyone and the world around us were spinning. A cool breeze blows across our faces, we heard a language speaking, seems familiar, and our bodies got light, weightless when suddenly we became aware of the end of the journey. Illustration by Xiaoman Ren We were back again, yet part of us is still ascending, rising higher and higher, following the voices we wanted to hear. From the dark sky, we looked down, that is their world, and ours, void of any air. It is warm. The end. Many thanks to Ahmed Guerfal, Fyras Nasfi, and everyone we met at Gabes of Danseurs Citoyens Sud. Speacial thanks to Omar Ben Amor. Thanks to Selim Ben Safia of Al Badil, and his team in Al Badil’s space. Thanks to Syhem Belkhodja, Nawel Skandrani, Malek Sebai, Nesrine Chaabouni, Fatima Al-Sharif, Daghsni Mohamed, Imed Jemaa, Chouaib Brick), Sadak trabelsi, Hatem Daabek, etc.